Neck gone wrong

[badasstommyboy]

I decided to do a project guitar and build one. So i got a body and a neck. When i attatched the neck the holes didn't line up so i drilled some new ones (the new ones were far away enough from the original holes so it was ok) but it's slightly off, and the strings are shifted to one side. Would i be able to fill the holes in the neck and then re-drill them? or has the neck had it??

The neck looks it a bad way, and there are a couple of high frets which buzz quite a bit. It was bought mainly because i wanted to know how a scalloped fretboard felt like.

The neck has a locking nut. The body is fine, but i'm considering just getting another better neck.

[BLS]

you can fill the holes with dowels and redrill with little to no problems.

[westhemann]

yeah...and it sounds like all it may need is a truss rod adjustment or a fret leveling to make the fret buzz stop.

necks are pretty much forever...but the frets ocassionally need work

[badasstommyboy]

hmmm i might have to file down a couple of frets. only a tiny bit though.

I'll be putting in a fernandes sustainer kit as well, so should be a cool guitar. Anybody know where i can get mirrored scratch plate material?

by the way what do you think to those dots? hehe just some lil stickers, look quite like abalone.

I know i know i cheated. But its scalloped so they won't wear off hehe.

[vladdrac]

hmmm i might have to file down a couple of frets. only a tiny bit though.

I'll be putting in a fernandes sustainer kit as well, so should be a cool guitar. Anybody know where i can get mirrored scratch plate material?

by the way what do you think to those dots? hehe just some lil stickers, look quite like abalone.

I know i know i cheated. But its scalloped so they won't wear off hehe.

He, he...i think they look COOL..

Show us the whole guitar..

cheers

[badasstommyboy]

Show us the whole guitar..

hehe thats blatant taking advantages of a noobs good nature..but ok.

Hopefully i'll be staining the guitar a deep red colour and have a mirror scratch plate. Then once the fernandes sustainer kit is in it'll be groovy!!

I'm still a little worried about the neck though. When filling the holes of the neck joint with dowel, obviously i'll try to make it as tight a fit as possible. Should i use any glue?

Also will it be a particularly weak spot on the guitar? Will the guitar be able to hold up with the filled and redrilled holes??

[goth_fiend]

definatly use glue!!!!!!!!!!! you dont want that wood going anywhere, fill in the holes, redrill and you should be fine.

[badasstommyboy]

definatly use glue!!!!!!!!!!! you dont want that wood going anywhere, fill in the holes, redrill and you should be fine.

any glue in particular

[goth_fiend]

well any carpenters glue would work, but i would go with titebond(not titebond II)

[badasstommyboy]

so if i did that would the neck joint be any weaker then a standard bolt on neck joint? or just as strong?

[goth_fiend]

should be like new man! i had to do that to a johnson strat i had and it worked perfectly till i sold it (not enough frets!)

[badasstommyboy]

ok cool. thanks a lot, i'll be sure to return with a sexy completed guitar!!!!!!!

unless i make a balls up of it again lol

[westhemann]

there is no reason at all to glue the neck joint.....just fill the old holes with dowels of some type(glue THEM in)

it will be as strong as any other bolt on

[Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars]

Couldnt you just loosen the screws and shift the neck? Mosy boltons have oversized body holes for that reason.

[Guitarfrenzy]

I couldn't tell you how many Fender guitars and basses I've had to do this way. It's basically like Litchfield is suggesting. You loosen the bolt and see if you can manually push it in the direction it needs to go, then tighten up the bolts while it's aligned real good. If your lucky that's all you'll need to do, sometimes you have to file the neck pocket slightly to allow for enough movement.

[Saber]

I'm still a little worried about the neck though. When filling the holes of the neck joint with dowel, obviously i'll try to make it as tight a fit as possible. Should i use any glue?

Also will it be a particularly weak spot on the guitar? Will the guitar be able to hold up with the filled and redrilled holes??

I have a feeling it isn't quite clear yet. When we talk about "filling the holes with dowels", we're not talking about filling the gaps between the neck and the body. We're talking about filling the wrongly placed screw holes and re-drilling them in the right place.

1. Find some dowels that are just slightly bigger diameter than the present screwholes in the neck.

2. Use a drill bit of the size of the dowel to enlarge the present holes to receive the dowels.

3. Glue the dowels into the newly enlarged holes leaving them stick out just slightly.

4. After the glue has dried, sand the dowels down level to the wood of the neck.

5. Drill the new holes at the right places.

Disclaimer: Maybe Wes or some of the other experienced builders could confirm or correct the above procedure that I have nevertheless used successfully, or add any missing details.

[badasstommyboy]

yeh, i understood what to do, i just wanted to double check.